The English Mail-Coach and Joan of ArcDe Quincey, Thomas
General
The English Mail-Coach and Joan of Arc
De Quincey, Thomas
English essays; Joan, of Arc, Saint, 1412-1431
92 15 DAUGHTER OF CÆSARS: She was the daughter of the German emperor,
Francis I, whose sovereignty, as the name "Holy Roman Empire" shows, was
supposed to continue that of the ancient Roman emperors.
92 17 CHARLOTTE CORDAY (1768-93) murdered the revolutionist Marat in the
belief that the good of France required it; two days later she paid the
penalty, as she had expected, with her life.
93 18 GRAFTON, A CHRONICLER: Richard Grafton died about 1572. He was
printer to Edward VI. His chronicle was published in 1569.
93 20 "FOULE FACE": _Foule_ formerly meant "ugly."
9321 HOLINSHEAD: Raphael Holinshed died about 1580. His great work,
_Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland_, was used by Shakespeare
as the source of several plays. He writes of Joan: "Of favor
[appearance] was she counted likesome; of person stronglie made, and
manlie; of courage, great, hardie, and stout withall."
94 (footnote) SATANIC: This epithet was applied to the work of some
of his contemporaries by Southey in the preface to his _Vision of
Judgement_, 1821. It has been generally assumed that Byron and Shelley
are meant. See Introduction to Byron's _Vision of Judgment_ in the new
Murray edition of Byron, Vol. IV.
96 (footnote) BURGOO: a thick oatmeal gruel or porridge used by seamen.
According to the _New English Dictionary_ the derivation is unknown; but
in the _Athenaeum_, Oct. 6, 1888, quoted by Hart, the word is explained
as a corruption of Arabic _burghul_.
101 30 ENGLISH PRINCE, REGENT OF FRANCE: John, Duke of Bedford, uncle
of Henry VI. "In genius for war as in political capacity," says J.
R. Green, "John was hardly inferior to Henry [the Fifth, his brother]
himself" (_A History of the English People_, Book IV, Chap. VI).
101 31 MY LORD OF WINCHESTER: Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester,
half-brother of Henry IV. He was the most prominent English prelate of
his time and was the only Englishman in the Court that condemned
Joan. As to the story of his death, to which De Quincey alludes, see
Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI, Act III, sc. in. Beaufort became cardinal in
1426.
102 17 WHO IS THIS THAT COMETH FROM DOMRÉMY? This is an evident
imitation of the famous passage from Isaiah Ixiii. I: "Who is this that
cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?" "Bloody coronation
robes" is rather obscure, but probably refers to the fact that Joan had
shed her own blood to bring about the coronation of her sovereign; she
is supposed to have appeared in armor at the actual coronation ceremony,
and this armor might with reason be imagined as "bloody."
102 22 SHE ... SHALL TAKE MY LORD'S BRIEF: that is, she shall act as the
bishop's counsel. In the case of Beauvais, as in that of Winchester,
it must be remembered that in all monarchical countries the bishops are
"lords spiritual," on an equality with the greater secular nobles, the
"lords temporal."
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